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Thursday, June 13, 2013

The Reinvented Writer with Guest Amy Shojai

Welcome back, Amy Shojai! I've known Amy and her work for many years - dog & cat writer, mentor & teacher, thriller writer, actress....you name it, Amy can do it! But nothing good comes easily, and here's Amy on how she reinvented herself - more than once. Check out Amy's online classes at the end of her post, too. ~ Sheila

The Reinvented Writer

by Amy Shojai

How many of
y’all have thought you had it made, your career plans on track and then life
gob-smacked you upside the head? Lots of successful writers and authors experienced
that in the past few years as publishing pulled the rug out from under our
ass-umptions. Newer writers just beginning that climb through the slush got
their personal brass rings yanked out of reach as well. Detours suck, big time.

Know what I
did? I threw a gi-normous loud-and-cranky pity party for about 3 years. And
quit writing. I even took a real job . . .That real job taught me something,
drove it home like nothing else had before. Here’s what I learned.

I am a
writer. It’s not what I do, it’s who I am. But the “old Amy” no longer
worked in the new world. So I reinvented myself.

Are you a
writer? How do you define “writer?” Are you suffering head-banging frustration
trying to figure out next steps? Have you been tempted to quit? Then, you’re
normal. YOU ARE ME!

We’re in
this writing world together. Learn from my mistakes—don’t waste three years.
Reinvent yourself today…you, too, can jump off the hamster wheel and start
fresh. Here’s what I did.

Updated & Re-published

My business
has been nonfiction books and translating “medicalese” for pet owners. When pet
books stopped selling, many of my titles went out of print—and I got my rights
back, updated the information, and turned ‘em loose once more. The first one, COMPLETE
KITTEN CARE, continues to be my best seller especially during kitten season
(that’s NOW!).

Putting all
of your writer-ly eggs in one basket can scramble ‘em into a mess should that
one venue go south. Diversify with multiple revenue streams. Make sure your
books are available on all Ebook platforms as well as print, and don’t forget
audio. Yes, I now record my own books for Audible.com.

When you
have a publisher handling this for you—GOOD FOR YOU! But you can still do more.
Do you have an affiliate account with the online booksellers? Why not? You can
earn referral fees on your own (or others’) books. Set up a “book page” on
Facebook or on your own blog. I’m using a very cool new plugin called MyBookTable available for
wordpress sites.

A Business Daredevil

With no
editor or agent to tell me, “No, that won’t sell!” I took chances and
experimented. After bringing back the backlist books, I listened to my readers
and published original nonfiction titles. While the first ComPETability
(Dogs/Cats) book is an update of a backlist book, two more original books
in the series were born. ComPETability:
Solving Behavior Problems in Your Multi-Cat Household has only been out a
year, and runs a close second in sales. Maybe it’s something about cats? J But more than that,
it’s HEARING what your readers want and giving it to them! For an author,
THAT’S good business.

Stopped “Selling,” Started “Friending”

Let’s face
it—unless you’re Hilary Clinton, your publisher won’t fund a book tour and
media push for your title. Discoverability for books is completely up to authors.
But blanketing the blogosphere and social networks with BUY MY BOOK!!! has the
opposite of the intended effect.

Today it’s
all about relationships, building author-to-reader connections and yes—creating
“tribes” of like-minded folk who help each other. A recommendation from a
friend weighs more than $$$-funded publicity push, and reader reviews matter
over and above big-name endorsements.

So I snugged
tight my big-girl-panties, put on my protective “bling” armor and joined the
conversation on Facebook, Twitter, et al. And I discovered if you’re genuine
and interested in others, folks will be interested in you. When they like you,
they take a chance on even a debut book or unknown project or your cause just
because they’ve got a relationship with
you—AND they’ll share that with THEIR friends! One review leads to ten more
and so on. That’s the multiplier effect of tribes.

Books Give Away

Giving books
away is one of the best marketing investments of all. Who knew? I’m not talking
specifically about making books free (although that’s one option that may work
in specific situations). No, I’m referring to review copies. Big name
publishers already do this with NetGalley
for front-of-the-catalogue titles but that’s pricy for small presses or
Indie/Hybrid authors.

A relatively
new program provides a similar service at a fraction of the cost by offering free
copies of books to the mail list in exchange for a review. Last fall when my
debut dog-viewpoint thriller Lost
And Found released, the book garnered more than 50 positive reviews once
enrolled in this program. To see how it works, check out listing for my newest
title, ComPETability/Dogs
FREE on
StoryCartel for the next month.

Giving Back

I got to
reinvent myself with help of others who mentored me, so turn-about is fair
play. Besides, it’s just the right thing to do. J
That’s one reason I jumped at the chance to guest here at Sheila’s awesome
site. Good karma gets returned so find ways to pay-it-forward. You won’t be
sorry.

These days
you’ll also find me speaking at writer conferences but that can be pricy for
attendees to fund travel/hotel/registration. So I offer writing webinars where
you don’t have to wear makeup and can come in your jammies. Upcoming classes
June 15 and June 22 include:

Lights! Cameras! Action! Media Training for Writers (and Others). June
15, 2-3:30 Eastern Time. Benefits authors with books, writers promoting
causes, volunteers supporting nonprofit charities and anyone who seeks to shine
a spotlight on an event or product. Authors especially feel frustrated by the
crowded shelves—virtual and literal—and seek ways to get positive notice.
Television appearances for many look like the Holy Grail of the writers'
"promote or perish" mantra. But how do you get the gig, and once you
do—how can you leverage that 2 minutes of air time (without flop-sweat turning
you into a gibbering idiot)? This 90-minute Power Point presentation (with
SQUEEE! fun animal pix!) gives you an inside look at media, from both sides of
the interview desk.

Just The Facts: Create Winning Nonfiction Proposals. June 22, 2-3:30
Eastern Time. Designed to
help beginning to experienced writers interested in submitting nonfiction books
for publication to agents and/or publishers. This session also includes
(SQUEE!) CUTE PET PICTURES and shows you how to choose saleable topics, build
an impressive bio, query (or not), and craft the proposal. There are many kinds
of nonfiction, from memoir and biography to prescriptive advice and
"creative nonfiction" stories. You'll learn what components make up
the proposal and how to compose them, how to format the proposal, and create
your competition/market survey. You'll also learn tips for finding expert
sources, building your 'brand' and leveraging your platform.

5 comments:

Amy, I really appreciate this post! I've never heard of Sheila's blog until I saw your link on FB, but you can bet I'll be back. I have considered myself a writer for a long time, but having a full-time job as a newspaper reporter hasn't left much time for my personal projects. I have been using the past few months to reinvent my writing and perspective. Thanks for the tips!

Hi Mary! So glad you found your way here (thanks for that, Amy). My blog is fairly eclectic, but I am increasing the number of "writerly" entries as I'm doing a bit of reinvention myself. It's always helpful to have friends along this pilgrim path.

This is good practical advice for any writer. The bottom line is defining a real writer from a wannabee. Real writers need to write no matter what and never give up like you, Amy. Love all the links. I'm a big fan of Netgalley and FYI, the StoryCartel link is broken.